I had RnY Surgery on Sept 6th and so far am down 42 lbs. I followed the doctors instructions to the letter for the first 2 weeks but have been deviating a little here and there. I am still eating pretty much nothing but protein. My diet consists mainly of eggs, cottage cheese, Greek Yogurt, re-fried beans, lunch meat, chicken breast meat and the occasional can of cream soup. everything I eat is the Low fat or No fat variety.

Here is where I have deviated, Today I had 2 cups of coffee (I am not suppose to have caffeine until week 8), I went back to puffing on the occasional cigar about 2 weeks ago, in the last week I have started having either wine or a little whiskey with my cigar. I was told not to go to the gym until week 6 but found myself there for the first time today (4 weeks after surgery).

I feel great and healthy and strong, I have plenty of energy. I had surgery on a Wednesday and would have gone back to work on Friday if I hadn't already turned in my time card for the week. I did go back to work the Monday after surgery and never had any problems, not even any discomfort.

I think everybody is different and we can all tolerate things differently. I don't think I am doing anything wrong when it comes to my recovery or weight loss but I do feel a little guilty for not following all the instructions I was given.

I guess i thought the alcohol was worse than ur making it seem[mention=311272]berry78[/mention]. Perhaps the info i was given was wrong? Ive been told that with bypass, alcohol is especially bad for us because we no longer have the stomach to metabolize the alcohol so its entirely upon the liver now to do that, which its not designed to do, which is why cirrhosis of the liver is something like 4-5 times more likely for bypass patients who drink. I imagine theres quantity and frequency dependencies that go into that stat, but drinking nonetheless for bypass patients regularly is playing liver roulette. No?

As for coffee, i agree, no big deal. My team is more concerned about caffeine being a diuretic, so thats why they dont want me drinking caffeine until many weeks out.

Caffeine as a diuretic is an urban myth that they have disproven which science. I have posted links to peer reviewed scientific articles but don't have the time to go back and find them. If you'd like you can search my post history or just use google!

Thank you [mention=326905]Amburmist[/mention] for bringing this up.
I did a bit of digging, and essentially it boils down to this.
During the first year postop, the entire body is working hard to lose weight. The liver has often been stressed prior to surgery because of fatty liver. It continues being stressed during the weight loss period (and maybe longer if it had significant damage).
Alcohol doesn't appear to be more dangerous to the liver postop than it would be in another person whose liver is in the same condition.
What does happen is the alcohol is metabolized differently... we get drunk sooner and stay that way longer. We may be at risk of drinking excessively due to addiction transfer... and excessive alcohol is a problem for anyone.
Our blood alcohol level goes up more on a given quantity of alcohol than that of a non-patient. More alcohol in the blood means more work for the liver.
So, my recommendation is that we shouldn't drink for 6 months postop AT ALL. From 6 months until maintenance, limit alcohol to maybe once a month, and only 1 serving.
During maintenance, 1 serving 2-3 times a week at most.
And of course, this is assuming the doc has said its ok for the individual.
Tylenol affects the liver and should be carefully controlled as well.
Smoking is strongly associated with ulcers. Smoking and drinking and NSAIDS, combined, are worse for ulcers. I didn't see where alcohol by itself causes ulcers.
Just as our meals need to shrink, the size of our alcohol servings should too.
In the study, participants drank 5oz of wine. The non-bariatric patients had a blood alcohol level of .02. The patients' was .05-.08!
Do NOT drink a 5oz glass of wine or a 12oz can of beer and think you can drive less than 2 hours later.
And when I was recommending servings... you might want to consider a serving to be 1/2 of a normal one. 6oz beer or 2.5oz table wine... especially if you want to indulge more than once a week.

Interesting! I have fully experienced the "getting drunk faster/on less alcohol" but from my perception I felt like it wore off quicker!

Interesting! I have fully experienced the "getting drunk faster/on less alcohol" but from my perception I felt like it wore off quicker!

That’s exactly what happened to me. I got buzzed fast and it wore off fast. It was weird. I did drink before six months. It was a one time thing as I rarely drink.

I've heard people say it feels like it wears off quicker... but, assuming the study is applicable across the board (can't be certain that is even the case)...

Since it creates a bigger punch, it's possible that as it wears off, you just don't feel the smaller amount of alcohol as much.. you're kinda numbed to it.

Anyway, just a theory..

Ok, I found a good graphic to base a drinking recommendation on. This chart is for non-bariatric folk, and since we can't handle as much alcohol, we should cut the amounts down.

Men: 2/day and 7/week

Women: 1/day and 4/ week

Ok, I found a good graphic to base a drinking recommendation on. This chart is for non-bariatric folk, and since we can't handle as much alcohol, we should cut the amounts down.
Men: 2/day and 7/week
Women: 1/day and 4/ week

What is that recommendation from and what is it based on? Heart health? Risk of dependence? Sugar content/insulin response? Truly curious!

https://www.rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/How-much-is-too-much/Whats-the-harm/What-Are-The-Risks.aspx

Ok this is the site where that graphic came from. The website describes the problems of heavy drinking from a mental and physical health point of view. (Dependence, liver disease, etc.)

The BBC describes limits as well.... and theirs are based on consumption levels that keep risk of alcohol-related death to 1%. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/uk-35255384

https://www.rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/How-much-is-too-much/Whats-the-harm/What-Are-The-Risks.aspx
Ok this is the site where that graphic came from. The website describes the problems of heavy drinking from a mental and physical health point of view. (Dependence, liver disease, etc.)
The BBC describes limits as well.... and theirs are based on consumption levels that keep risk of alcohol-related death to 1%. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/uk-35255384

Thanks! I will give it a read.

I realized that I was following week 3 instructions on week 2. Now I'm scared that I may have messed myself up. I ate turkey chili and had some chicken breast. I didn't have any problems with it, but I'm going back to

cottage cheese and refried beans. How soon will symptoms arise if I have given myself a leak? Really worried here. I always follow instructions, I just was thinking I was on the soft food phase.

I had RnY Surgery on Sept 6th and so far am down 42 lbs. I followed the doctors instructions to the letter for the first 2 weeks but have been deviating a little here and there. I am still eating pretty much nothing but protein. My diet consists mainly of eggs, cottage cheese, Greek Yogurt, re-fried beans, lunch meat, chicken breast meat and the occasional can of cream soup. everything I eat is the Low fat or No fat variety.
Here is where I have deviated, Today I had 2 cups of coffee (I am not suppose to have caffeine until week 8), I went back to puffing on the occasional cigar about 2 weeks ago, in the last week I have started having either wine or a little whiskey with my cigar. I was told not to go to the gym until week 6 but found myself there for the first time today (4 weeks after surgery).
I feel great and healthy and strong, I have plenty of energy. I had surgery on a Wednesday and would have gone back to work on Friday if I hadn't already turned in my time card for the week. I did go back to work the Monday after surgery and never had any problems, not even any discomfort.
I think everybody is different and we can all tolerate things differently. I don't think I am doing anything wrong when it comes to my recovery or weight loss but I do feel a little guilty for not following all the instructions I was given.

Wow hope mine goes as easy as yours. I just got my date the other day.....Nov 29th! Can't wait t get started

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I realized that I was following week 3 instructions on week 2. Now I'm scared that I may have messed myself up. I ate turkey chili and had some chicken breast. I didn't have any problems with it, but I'm going back to
cottage cheese and refried beans. How soon will symptoms arise if I have given myself a leak? Really worried here. I always follow instructions, I just was thinking I was on the soft food phase.

I believe if u have a leak, u should know pretty quickly. The pain would be fairly immediate, I'd think. Anyone believe or know differently? I'm just guessing that if ur stomach were to tear and begin leaking into ur body, u would know PDQ! Honestly tho, by the 2nd week, ur not going to tear ur stomach just by eating chicken breast and chili. If u overstuffed urself like we used to do PREsurgery, then maybe, but u should be fine. Heck, some people's docs have them eating exactly what u ate and more 2 weeks post surgery! So ur fine! [emoji4]

Leaks can happen until the initial scar tissue has formed over the wound.. it takes up to 9 weeks to be considered "safe" from leaks.

Most leaks are not sudden, catastrophic tears (those that are will most likely be lethal in a very short period of time.. like, not make it to the hospital, short).

Instead, leaks frequently tend to be very small, oozing type. The pain can be minimal or significant.. but usually people CAN feel something is just "not right". Once the body realizes food is landing where it doesn't belong, fever spikes.

Fewer than 5 people out of a hundred develop a leak... (which means 95+ don't). It's good to know what to watch out for, but since they are pretty rare, don't be paranoid.

5 hours ago, Denisek said:

I realized that I was following week 3 instructions on week 2. Now I'm scared that I may have messed myself up. I ate turkey chili and had some chicken breast. I didn't have any problems with it, but I'm going back to

cottage cheese and refried Beans. How soon will symptoms arise if I have given myself a leak? Really worried here. I always follow instructions, I just was thinking I was on the soft food phase.

If you were careful, I'm sure all will be fine. You can always contact your doc for peace of mind.